Various types of front insert receptacles have been developed in recent years for reasons such as avoiding the problems resulting from difficulty of access to the rear side of a panel or similar structures when mounting the receptacle. Several successful examples are depicted in the applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,804, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In general, the front insert receptacle designs shown in that patent deal with various types of tubular housings with keyways and wound springs for facilitating mounting of the various forms. All of the structures show a portion of the housing which is shiftable between an operative and an inoperative position so that when the receptacle is positioned in an opening in a member, activation of the locking means from the entrance side will cause shifting of portions of the housing and locking of the receptacle in position. Other portions of the various receptacle designs contain engagement structure for coupling with a stud interengaged with a second member so that the two members can be fastened together by the stud and receptacle.
An example of a snap-in type of front insert receptacle is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,923. Once again, the principal is to provide a means for mounting the receptacle from the front side of a panel like surface without requiring access to the rear of the panel.
The type of structures in the above discussed patents and contemplated by the improved structure of the present invention are prevalent in wall mountings and in panel to panel engagements such as used in cabinets and the like.
Naturally, in fasteners of this type, cost is quite important and minimizing the cost of materials, the number of components and assembly time is desirable.